Best SACD player for the money - Marantz SA-11S1

Dcaudio, you forget that your 555ES is a much cheaper player than all of the players that have been mentioned. A lot has happened since 2001, but that has nothing to do with how good the 555ES is. There isn't a stock player that goes for the same price as the 555ES did back then that beats the 555ES in every aspect. The 555ES has one of the best transports available on changers. You won't find the level of build quality then nor now for the same price. It was a good value back then and still is a good value now. But most people bought the 555ES either because they wanted a changer or they couldn't afford/didn't think it's worth the difference for the XA777ES. And even back then we were talking about a couple hundred dollars more.

Howie, Are you saying that say a mod like SACDmods or Tube Research to my SCD-C555ES will take me very close to the Marantz level? Remember this is $ 600 to $ 700. versus selling it for $ 500 and buying a new Marantz SACD player. I guess spending $ 700 versus at least $ 2500 additional to get the Marantz. Thanks

DCAudio-

You may want to email Paul at TRL and see what he thinks about your upgrade or mod path with the 555ES.
I am sure a place like TRL or SACD mods could improve the stock player. The question is whether the technology used on the 555ES has been passed up by a newer (and maybe cheaper unit).

Something like the Sony ES2000 unit may have more upside after a mod than a 555ES. I know it sounds kind of odd, but the Sony CE595 (a $150 unit) that I had modded by TRL was a monster. The best digital I have had in my system. The ES2000 is a believed to be notch above the 595 by those that have heard both modded and it is about $150 more stock.

Now certainly initial build quality has a co-relation to the outcome of a modded unit, but maybe not quite as much as one might think.

I guess all I am saying is that the newer technology may offer some other alternatives for you.
Good Luck.

DCaudio, I'm not necessarily saying that the mods would be better. In fact, it depends on how much you believe in the work of the individual modders. If say the TRL mods are as good as some people like Lkdog claims it is, then modding your 555ES will surely bring you close to the Marantz if not better. I was close to trying out TRL but have not since I haven't bought into the raves yet. Everyone who has modded their players seems to think their modded players are pretty much the very best. I myself am looking for a player in the midrange as well but have so far been sitting on the fence.

Lkdog, I've talked to Paul in the past about my 555ES. It's not that I don't trust his work, but at first he told me that he knows the 555ES and that the 595 would be better, which I find it hard to believe since presumably the same mods are done and I know for a fact that the 555 has superior transport. What is left is whether the chips are better in the 595 or whether the way the 555 is configured inside makes it not a good player to mod. He couldn't tell me. All he could say is that the 595 is really good. After a few days of questioning he backtracks and tells me he just modded a 555ES and that was by far the best player he's ever heard because it has a superior transport. Now I'm not sure if it was the 555ES he modded but rather the 2000ES. All I know is that if he's recommending a player, it's because it's widely available and probably not a bad value. Then again, he probably has had a lot more players that have come around since then so he might have better knowledge now than before.

I know that some players are simply not good candidates for modding. But that aside, it's hard to believe that the same modder can't possibly be capable of doing more with a better built player unless there are specific reasons for it. TRL to me offers the best price and probably the best value, but he's the only modder I know who pays very little attention/have very little belief in the importance of a better transport. When he was pushing the 595, Paul was claiming that that's pretty much the best player you can get. He tells you that even if you sent him a better player with a better transport it would come short of the 595. I just can't accept that and think that it's simply because he has had success with the 595.

Hmmm...
Howie - I am not sure I am understanding your post very well.
I am making no claims that anything is the best to mod, or is the best player when modded. The only point I was making was that units with newer chipsets might offer better potential than some slightly older units. I am sure many other factors in the build quality of a unit contribute to the sound and also if it is a good platform for modding.

As far as Paul's view on the 555es- I have no idea but I do know that they evaluate units carefully like any other modder and do pay close attention to transports. One of the reasons they got better results from the Sony 595 over the Sony 775, for example, was that they liked the transport in the 595 better.
They do look at players that are readily available as popular options, but they do really like the Marantz reference players which are not all that easy to come by actually.

They mod many units from the modest 595 to the very expensive; i.e. Esoterics, etc.
They are always evaluating units as they come in and have opinions and options based upon what someone may want to spend on the stock units.